LAU Arab Popular culture conference

By Weam Al Dakheel

Andrew Hammond-Pop Culture Arab World

Arab Popular Culture Covered in LAU

the audience

LAU’s Department of Communication Arts organized a conference about the Arab Popular Culture and the Media from April 21 to the 23rd under the management of Dr.Ramez Maluf. The Arabic popular culture is the common shared theme among 40 scholars from around the world. They will discuss and embark upon culture, religion, technology, music, gender segregation, architecture, Internet, and social media in different parts of the Arab world.

Features of online love stories in the Gulf by Nele Lenze. University of Oslo

How does one find the right life spouse when both woman and men are barely socially interacting in conservative Gulf countries?

In the Arab pop culture conference, which took place in the Lebanese American University, the discussion started from a technological aspect relating to online dating. What are the benefits of publishing online?
1.Accessible
2.Easy to publish
3.Audience is known
4.Limited censorship
5.Layout
6.Anonymity
7.Applying that on online dating

The above list is the prime benefits of online publishing, as you can have:
– Easily Accessible from any PC, 24 hours a day
– Good way for travelers to meet singles at various destinations
– Builds your social network by searching for and meeting like minded people
– Worldwide medium so you can meet people all over the world
– Inexpensive way to browse an unlimited number of single men and women
– Free anonymous email accounts
– New video dating and voice personals help you get more of a sense of the person

Arab Popular Culture Confrence, held at LAU

I agree with Oslo about internet sites segregation, specially in Gulf countries. However, all Internet dating sites are not created identically. Just like clubs or a advertisements, different sites tend to attract different types of people. In Golf countries “love stories are based on gender segregation,” said Oslo. The discussion norms shaping the characteristics of Internet dating are: gender segregation, social status, gender roles, and globalization.

How about a communicating with dating letters through books from libraries? Does it make sense in how much you going to know the person wildly successful?

Nele Oslo Answers the question by illustrating real life examples of couples dating in Riyadh through book libraries, chatting rooms, facebook, and other social media sources. As for statistics, numbers speaks for the molding of online dating on people’s minds and lives.

Online dating stats in the info graphic below, a few highlights:

1.One out of ten users on online dating sites are scammers; one out of ten users leave within the first 3 months; and one out of ten sex offenders reportedly use online dating to meet people.
2.Online, men lie most about their age, height, and income.
3.Women, on the other hand, lie most about their weight, physical build, and age.

The best online dating conversations

Chatting with someone online and sharing some of your most personal thoughts and experiences are much easier than speaking to someone in person. Nele Oslon has focused on this aspect concerning the dating conversations specially the techniques of writing and chatting online.

The list of online writing tips and strategies:

*Try asking a question


Some of the best headlines grab the users’ attention by asking them a question. It should be relevant to your profile but the more obscure the better. People often get drawn in by a question and can’t resist answering it, particularly if it’s quite literal.
Leave the clichés to someone else 
Just doing your research will show you how many people write things like ‘Looking for Mr Right’ or ‘I might be the one you’re looking for’ or even ‘I don’t know what to write’! Think about what an overused headline is going to tell someone about you except maybe that you have limited imagination?

*Or try a misquote

Same as above but with a twist! But don’t forget to acknowledge that is what you are doing or people might just think you are stupid!

*Be philosophical

Try wearing your heart on your sleeve and stating your philosophy on life in the first few words, you’ll be amazed at the effect!
Limit your use of emoticons and exclamation marks
It can be difficult to express yourself in writing sometimes but some people simply hate emoticons etc. so err on the side of caution and try and leave then out of your headline or at least limit their use.

Follow me on twitter: @weamaldakheel or on scribblelive.com http://www.scribblelive.com/Event/Arab_Pop_Culture_and_the_Media

Is Thierry Henry Nearing a Camp Nou Exit?

By Weam Al Dakheel

Thierry Henry’s talent and popularity was growing numerously in the past decade since he joined Arsenal FC in 1999. Many in the football world considered him as the greatest striker in the world. After an epic career with Arsenal FC, he kept showing his class and football experience in FC Barcelona last season 2008_2009, being an essential part of winning the six cups (La Liga, Champions League, Copa del Ray, Spanish Super Cup, European Super Cup, and the World Cup Club). But this season Henry has found himself as a trivial figure. From the 41 games Barcelona has played so far this season (25 in the Liga, 7 in the Champions League, 4 in the Copa del Rey, 2 in the Spanish Super Cup, 1 in the European Super Cup and 2 in the Club World Cup); Henry has started just 18, coming off the bench as a substitute in 4 games. He scored 4 goals and made 1 assist. Unlike the young striker Pedro who has started one game more than Henry, 21, making 14 substitute appearances so far this season scoring 17 times this season, and creating 4 assists. “If I had scored 15 goals the situation would be different. Personally, I think I don’t deserve to play,” said Henry.

In fact, Titi deserves the ultimate respect (but not from Irish people maybe!), and judging him by numbers is unfair to his true greatness as a footballer, especially when you consider Henry’s advancing years, he will be 33 in the summer and still was one of the strongest strikers last season competing with the stars of the new football generation such as Lionel Messi, Christiano Ronaldo, and Wayne Rooney, having in his tally 25 goals and 11 assists. Additionally, Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola has admitted he believes that the youngster Pedro still has a lot of work to do before he reaches the level of Thierry Henry.
Speaking to Sport TV Before Getafe’s home game, Guardiola said, “He’s still quite a few steps ahead of Pedro,” adding, “I have great faith in Titi [Henry] and I hope he will recover his best form soon.”
But despite the great respect and faith Guardiola holds for Henry, the boss has slowly limited Henry’s minutes, deciding on the youngsters like Pedro Rodriguez and Bojan Krkic because this season has been something of a struggle for the former Arsenal talisman to shine with his foot again on the pitch.

For that, it seems that the French man is nearing an exit from Camp Nou. And the question on many people’s minds at the moment is whether Henry on his way out of FC Barcelona or not?
The French striker has stood up with pure honesty to the media and claimed that his poor performances are due to his lack of minutes on the pitch with his club Barcelona, saying, “This is a new experience for me, playing 25 minutes here and 15 minutes there.” “When you play regularly, you keep all of your speed and shape, but entering the Barcelona first team is difficult with Iniesta and Pedro playing so well.”

This Barca team is all about speed, highball possession, rotation of roles, and correct ball passing. After all his effort and playing time this season, Henry just hasn’t got the fitness or speed to do what is expected of him as the left winger of Barca, whether in leading the counter attacks, pressing at defenders, or tracking back to cover the left wing gaps.
After all, it seems unfair that the lasting memories of a player like Thierry Henry to be his worst days rather than his greatest. But still, he is ought to have all the affection and respect people hold for him because at the end of the day, who wouldn’t want to see Titti’s shinning smile after rocking the stadium with his glamorous football style?
To end this, I will leave the last word to the great man himself;
“In football you always get judged on your last game. Whoever you are, or how amazing you are, it’s the last game that everyone has seen. ” – Thierry Henry.